Drinking Liberally®

Posted by Maria at 10:28 PM | Comments (2)

This article makes me physically ill. Here you see taxpayer dollars thrown away on hundreds of thousands of weapons that simply have gone missing and unaccounted for in Iraq that may be responsible for killing our own Military personnel. I can barely stand typing this. The Times gives this grim report.

U.S. Is Said to Fail in Tracking Arms Shipped to Iraqis

. . . The report was undertaken at the request of Senator John W. Warner, the Virginia Republican who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and who recently expressed an assessment far darker than the Bush administration’s on the situation in Iraq. [But he'll wait til after the election to take action, natch.] . . . In its assessment of Iraqi weaponry, the inspector general concluded that of the 505,093 weapons that have been given to the Ministries of Interior and Defense over the last several years, serial numbers for only 12,128 were properly recorded. The weapons include rocket-propelled grenade launchers, assault rifles, machine guns, shotguns, semiautomatic pistols and sniper rifles. [my bold. Aaaaiiieeee!]

Of those weapons, 370,000 were purchased with American taxpayer money under what is called the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, or I.R.R.F., and therefore fell within the inspector general’s mandate.

Despite the potential risks from losing track of those weapons — involving 19 different contracts and 142 delivery orders — the United States recorded serial numbers for no more than a few thousand, the inspector general said.

There are standard regulations for registering military weaponry in that way, governed by the Department of Defense small-arms serialization program. The inspector general’s report said that when asked why so many weapons went to Iraq with no record of serial numbers, American military officials in Baghdad replied that they did not believe the regulations applied to them.

OMG. Every operation of our current government is a Katrina waiting to happen. Gross incompetence, cronyism and massive waste, fraud and abuse is driving this crazy train. People are dying from this bungling and neglect. Makes you wanna holler. Or vote the bastards out.

Posted by vicki at 11:53 PM | Comments (4)

Here are the details:

Election 2006: 3rd District
Bill Goodman moderates forums for candidates in the U.S. House
of Representatives race.
KET1: Monday, Oct. 30 at 8/7 pm CT
http://ket.org/election/

If you'd like to play some fun and games before the debate, some of your friends will be drinking liberally (or not) at Flanagan’s Back Room
934 Baxter Avenue
7:00 PM And watch the debate. More fun and games at here

Posted by vicki at 01:45 PM | Comments (3)

I just got this message from our DLer pal, Mike Bailey

Check out this video, which shows Amy giving her usual stump speech, followed
by Bob DeWeese's extremely muddled and ou-of-touch stump speech. Please be
patient, since the video may take a minute to load. You will not believe what
you see here. Remember, this man is the Minority Leader of the KY House.
Unbelievable.

Click here

I had no idea who DeWeese was or what he stood for. I'm in shock he ever got elected!

Posted by vicki at 08:35 PM

Brought to you by DLer, Rev. Todd. Here is his latest audio sermon: Have a listen by clicking this

Or read something Liberal here: Enjoy your Sunday!

Peace

Posted by vicki at 12:12 PM

Whew! This is great stuff! Special thanks to BC Hall for the link. Click here for the video and transcript that will have you ROFLMAO!

That great gasbag, "O Really?" takes a much needed whipping. Instead of all the point/counter point, we Liberals and normal folks need to stop debating these clowning fools and just give them what they deserve: a big fat laugh in their faces. Mock and scorn them as they richly deserve. After all, you can't argue with madmen.

Posted by vicki at 08:09 PM

Two former House committee investigators who were examining Capitol Hill security upgrades said a senior aide to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert hindered their efforts before they were abruptly ordered to stop their probe last year.

Where the hell is our "Liberal" media? This is some serious stuff I've only seen in obscure publications such as CQ and TalkingPointsMemo

The former Appropriations Committee investigators said Ted Van Der Meid, Hastert’s chief counsel, resisted from the start the inquiry, which began with concerns about mismanagement of a secret security office and later probed allegations of bid-rigging and kickbacks from contractors to a Defense Department employee.

Ronald Garant and a second Appropriations Committee investigator who asked not to be identified said Van Der Meid engaged in “screaming matches” with investigators and told at least one aide not to talk to them. Van Der Meid also prohibited investigators from visiting certain sites to check up on the effectiveness of the work, the investigators said.

It gets worse. Continue reading here.

Posted by vicki at 09:09 AM

The Republican party of racist, horses asses are really making a show of themselves. Limbaugh mocks an actor for showing symptoms of Parkinson's disease and the race for a Senate seat in Tennessee has taken on a blatently racist tone. Harold Ford, African-American Democrat is the target of a nasty, racist ad that has now been pulled and his opponent, Republican Bob Corker denounced it. One little problem, though. Bob Corker is running ads playing jungle drums every time Ford's name is mentioned. I found this on Josh Marshall's blog:

(October 25, 2006 -- 02:57 PM EDT // link)

So Tennessee senate candidate Bob Corker (R) says he's all bent out of shape about that RNC 'Harold Ford's an Uppity Negro' ad. So how does Corker feel about the radio ad his own campaign is running that features rumbling jungle drums every time the narrator mentions Ford's name? Click here to have a listen

UPDATE www.TheNation.com reports this:

GOP campaign fliers in October featured a suspiciously darkened image of Ford; later in the month, a radio ad accusing him of unfairly favoring blacks repeated the word "black" six times in its first twenty-four seconds, warning Tennesseans that he's a member of the "Congressional Black Caucus, an all-black group of congressmen who represent the interests of black people."

You just cannot make this s**t UP!

Posted by vicki at 10:21 AM | Comments (1)

With W and Cheney and Rummy all popping off about all sorts of crazy talk this week, you'd think they'd be hard to beat. Enter Comedian Ru$h Limbaugh. Here is what he had to say about actor Michael J. Fox:

"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh told listeners. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. . . . This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." Isn't having Parkinsons disease a laugh riot! What can you expect from a pal of Big Dick?

Posted by vicki at 03:33 PM | Comments (2)

Hahahahahahaha. You have to see this video click here to watch. WWW.NorthupExposure.com is mighty fine.

Posted by vicki at 12:11 PM

Woo Hoo! Jake just alerted me to a film about Iraq war Vets that will air soon. Here's a little background:

Titled “Taking the Hill,” the two-hour film will focus on veterans with little prior political experience who decided to run for Congress. It will air in December on the Discovery Times Channel, after the November general elections, so results of the campaigns will be known.

“At no other time in history have so many veterans run for national office at the same time,” said a statement from the cable channel, which noted that more than 50 veterans are on the ballot.

Although there are some war veterans running for election this year as Republicans, the film focuses on a group of Democratic candidates — some of whom had political conversions since leaving service.

Although most of the veterans profiled in the film “considered themselves politically independent, or in some cases Republican, during their active military careers, they have come together this year to run as Democrats,” said a press release from the filmmakers [. . . ]

Also featured in the documentary will be retired Marine Reserve Lt. Col. Andrew Horne, even though his 2006 campaign is over. He was running as a Democrat for a Kentucky congressional seat held by Republican incumbent Rep. Anne Northup, but he lost the Democratic primary.

Horne, who spent six years on active duty, was called up for the 1991 Persian Gulf War and again in 2003 to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Just days after he was activated for service in Iraq, his wife, Stephanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. He went on to deploy and his wife has since recovered.

Horne had been a registered independent before returning from Iraq, where he led troops during the invasion in 2003.

“The Bush administration is not being fully honest with Americans about the situation in Iraq; therefore, it’s my duty to speak out when our safety and future are at risk,” Horne said.

Check here for more

Posted by vicki at 08:07 AM | Comments (2)

ELECTION 2006/KENTUCKY

Click on this critical link to find a wealth of information about voting in Kentucky on Nov. 7 You can even click on links to find out who is contributing to individual campaigns. Also, please, please, please make sure you are registered to vote. Voter "purges" often delete the wrong person from voter rolls, so make sure you're not one of them.

Here is the address to check your voter status: www.elect.ky.gov

The Courier-Journal is to be commended for this excellent site and for promoting Democracy! Here is just a partial list of what you'll find:

2006 CANDIDATE SEARCH
Browse profiles of area candidates, submitted by the candidates themselves. Search by candidate, officer or location.
Jefferson County
Oldham County
Bullitt County
Shelby County
Spencer County
Kentucky state races
By office
» Secrets to successful voting - Questions and answers on voting
» Rights and responsibilities - What you need to know to vote in Kentucky

Posted by vicki at 06:16 PM | Comments (1)

There has, thankfully, never been a more Orwellian, insane, corrupt administration in U.S. history. We've been "treated" to propaganda in the MSM, written torture into law, lied to on a daily basis and called terrorist loving America haters for opposing the Iraq war by the GOP from the top down. This divorced from reality administration scares people the world over. The latest visit to crazy town is nicely summed up in The War Room at Salon.com here:

So why is the mainstream media jumping on the story now? Because the White House is spinning it so hard now. "Stay the course," Tony Snow said Monday, has left "the wrong impression about what was going on, and it allowed critics to say, 'Well, here’s an administration that’s just embarked upon a policy and not looking at what the situation is,' when, in fact, it is the opposite." And why is the White House spinning so hard now? Because three streams have just converged: Democrats are saying that "staying the course" is a prescription for disaster. An overwhelming, 65-percent majority of the American people say that the United States is losing ground in Iraq. And now the generals on the ground in Iraq say the current plan hasn't worked.

"Stay the course"? Who said "stay the course"? Tony Snow insisted Monday that the White House policy on Iraq is "not a stay-the-course policy."

So what kind of policy do we have? We're betting "stay the course" is replaced any minute now with "blame the military." In an interview with CNBC, the president says he's always been about flexibility but suggests that his generals haven't done enough to keep America limber. "Well, I've been talking about a change in tactics ever since I -- ever since we went in, because the role of the commander in chief is to say to our generals, 'You adjust to the enemy on the battlefield.'"

OK, somebody hold me! More good stuff here

Posted by vicki at 11:27 AM | Comments (3)

I watched the first installment tonight and it was very good and even handed. That won't stop the crazies in the GOP, who only like WH propaganda, from lashing out at CNN having a "Liberal" bias. The truth hurts and they want none of that. Check out the details here: and see for yourself. Here's how they describe it.

Tonight's "Broken Government" takes a jarring insider's look at Capitol Hill in the "Do-Nothing Congress." The House of Representatives has gone home after meeting for only 93 days this year and accomplishing virtually nothing. CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry -- a veteran of a decade covering Capitol Hill -- portrays the paralysis brought on by partisanship and obsession over raising money for elections. Monday at 8 and 11 p.m. ET.

If you like what you see, consider thanking CNN for this public service.

Posted by vicki at 10:21 PM

Check out two new, hilarious videos on www.northupexposure.com!

Click here

and here.

Very funny! Matt, you kick ASS!

The Congresswoman wants to hide behind a veil of lies, but we will bring truth to the campaign and keep Northup exposed!

Eric will fall over dead at the quality of this pic, and for good reason!

Posted by vicki at 10:28 PM | Comments (1)

As most of you know, DL regular Todd Eklof is the Minister of Clifton Unitarian Church. Some of you have been to his Sunday Services. For the rest of you, you can check out his sermons online HERE This is damned good stuf! Heh.

The Powerless Powers-that-Be
Reclaiming Power as a Life Affirming Principle Sept. 10, 2006

I had an interesting visit yesterday with two Baptists who came to my door to invite me to their church. After explaining that I’m already part of a Unitarian church, they feigned interest by asking about my beliefs. Once they realized I don’t base my beliefs solely upon the Bible (or, if they were more honest with themselves, on their particular interpretation of the Bible), they began trying to convince me that of all the sacred scriptures in the world, the Bible has proven to be the only true word of God because of all the prophecies in it that have come true. Alas, the only prophecy they could recount during the conversation, however, was the prophet Ezekiel’s predication that the city of Tyre would be destroyed. “But just about every ancient city has been destroyed!” I responded, “That’s a pretty safe prediction to make about any city.”

“Yeah, but Tyre was destroyed 250 years after Ezekiel died,” they continued.

“Very few cities lasted that long.” I countered, “The fact that it took 250 years for his prediction to come true makes it even less credible. What other prophecies have you got?”

Realizing they weren’t going to get far with this line of reasoning, one of the men shifted gears by telling me that God wants everyone to go to Heaven, but because we have “free will,” some of us will end up in Hell for not believing. “I can’t believe God would torment people in Hell just because they disagree with him,” I argued. “Surely you don’t worship a god who is so insecure.” Continue reading here

Posted by vicki at 10:06 PM | Comments (2)

The news keeps getting worse for the GOP every time a poll is taken. The stats posted below are from Newsweek and they are dreadful news for our State's Republican rubber-stampers of the worst legislation ever written into U.S. law. Waaaaaahhhhhhhhh!

And voters have more faith in the Democrats to handle almost every major issue presented in the poll, which was conducted on Thursday and Friday nights through phone interviews with 1,000 adults: from Iraq (46 to 34), to the economy (50 to 35), to federal spending (52 to 29), to health care (57 to 24).. And voters have more faith in the Democrats to handle almost every major issue presented in the poll, which was conducted on Thursday and Friday nights through phone interviews with 1,000 adults: from Iraq (46 to 34), to the economy (50 to 35), to federal spending (52 to 29), to health care (57 to 24). [. . .]

Most worrisome for the president, should the Democrats retake one or both houses of Congress, the American public supports their proposed “First 100 Hours” agenda. An overwhelming majority says allowing the government to negotiate lower drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies should be a top priority for a Democratic Congress (74 percent, including 70 percent of Republicans); 68 percent want increasing the minimum wage to be a top priority, including 53 percent of Republicans; 62 percent want investigating impropriety by members of Congress to be a top priority; and 58 percent want investigating government contracts in Iraq to be a top priority. Fifty-two percent say investigating why we went to war in Iraq should be a top priority (25 percent say it should a lower priority and 19 percent say it shouldn’t be done.)

We are hungry for effective government that acts for the good of the country, not the wealthy few and Big Bidnez. The Republicans have poved again and again they are not interested in or capable of governing. Out with the bums!

Posted by vicki at 06:29 PM | Comments (1)

While the C-J and David Hawpe sing the praises of our odious senior Senator, Mitch McConnell, the Lexington Herald-Leader does some serious investigative journalism. As sleazy as you think you knew him to be, this series of articles will curl your hair. Here's a brief snip. Do yourself a favor and read the entire series of articles here: Then call the C-J and ask them why Lexington got the scoop that should have come from them more than a decade ago. Thanks to Dezi for tipping me off to this series.

TWO FOR THE MONEY
WHEN MCCONNELL'S PULL FAILS, HIS LABOR SECRETARY WIFE FILLS IN
John Cheves, Herald-Leader Staff Writer

WASHINGTON -- Millionaire coal magnate Bob Murray knew the name to drop in September 2002, when Mine Safety Health Administration inspectors confronted him about safety problems at his mines: Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Murray, a large man with a fierce temper, is a huge donor to Republican senators. McConnell, R-Ky., rose through the ranks by raising money for those senators. And McConnell is married to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, whose agency oversees MSHA.
Shouting at a table full of MSHA officials at their district office in Morgantown, W.Va., Murray said: "Mitch McConnell calls me one of the five finest men in America, and the last I checked, he was sleeping with your boss," according to notes of the meeting. "They," Murray added, pointing at two MSHA men, "are gone. . .

Some longtime McConnell donors found their lobbying efforts more effective once Chao took over the Labor Department.

For example, the Food Marketing Institute lobbied the Senate and the Labor Department after President Bush took office in 2001 to kill the mandatory ergonomics rules that President Clinton had intended to protect workers from repetitive-stress injuries. The institute says it represents 26,000 grocery stores.

At the urging of the institute and other business groups, in 2001 McConnell and the GOP Senate narrowly approved a resolution declaring that Clinton's safety rules "shall have no force or effect."

But it was Chao, after the food institute's officials approached her, who sealed the deal by replacing Clinton's safety rules with "voluntary guidelines," the institute told its members in a newsletter.

Posted by vicki at 10:46 AM | Comments (1)

DLer Matt has some great stuff up on the web. If you haven' already seen the slime job Northup is trying to pull on Yarmuth, go here for some Northup Exposure Prepare for exploding head syndrome and then act.

Another Northup Ad, Another Set of Lies…
Thursday, October 19, 2006

John and his brother own 16 restaurants, all in the state of Florida
Florida’s minimum wage is $6.40 per hour, 20% more than Northup’s claim
The only employees who work for $6.40 per hour are servers in training, the others make at least $7 per hour
Anne Northup has seen the polls (Yarmuth 48%-Northup 47%) and desperate to keep her job, she’s not letting the truth stand in her way.

Posted by vicki at 11:31 AM | Comments (2)

Hoo Boy! Faced with the disasterous mess of their own making, Congressional Republicans attack each other. This is quite a spectical. If you click on the link, you'll notice that there is a graphic that reads, "Article Tools Sponsored By Do You Want Lies With That" Hahahahahahaha. The Times reports. You decide.

Tax-cutters are calling evangelicals bullies. Christian conservatives say Republicans in Congress have let them down. Hawks say President Bush is bungling the war in Iraq. And many conservatives blame Representative Mark Foley’s sexual messages to teenage pages.

With polls showing Republican control of Congress in jeopardy, conservative leaders are pointing fingers at one another in an increasingly testy circle of blame for potential Republican losses this fall.

“It is one of those rare defeats that will have many fathers,” said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, expressing the gloomy view of many conservatives about the outcome on Election Day. “And they will all be somebody else.”

And in other news, Bush Faces a Battery of Ugly Choices on War

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 — The acknowledgment by the United States Army spokesman in Iraq that the latest plan to secure Baghdad has faltered leaves President Bush with some of the ugliest choices he has yet faced in the war. Go here for the ugly details It's all Cheneyd up, peeps.

Posted by vicki at 10:06 AM

Woo Hoo! When is the last time someone ran for office who refused to be corrupted by money or unduly influenced by people she/he may have professional business dealings with in the future?

Katie Marie Brophy-Gagel

The Courier-Journal correctly noted I am not seeking any endorsements from groups/organizations and thus declined the endorsement interview. My decision is based on my wish to remain impartial and not beholden to any organization.

Likewise, I am not seeking campaign contributions from attorneys likely to appear before me in court if elected. I asked my opponent to agree to the same restriction, but he declined.

I do not suggest my opponent has or will take any improper action as a result of campaign donations from attorneys who practice before him; I am suggesting the process must make it difficult for judges to remain fair and impartial, and could mean wealthy donors potentially have better access to "justice." My guess is most, if not all judges, would prefer a different system that does not potentially compromise their objectivity.

I support the elimination of campaign contributions to judicial candidates by attorneys or parties likely to appear before the particular judge in question. Until laws are enacted that mandate those changes, I voluntarily decline to submit to any practice that could arguably place my objectivity in question.

Not that it matters, other than for accuracy's sake, but I graduated from college at the precocious age of 18, not 19, as The C-J reported.

KATIE M. BROPHY-GAGEL
Candidate
Jefferson Circuit Court
Division 11

Posted by vicki at 02:19 PM | Comments (1)

DLer Derek has an awesome blog post you just have to see. Here's a little snip:

Furthermore, the trumpeting of conservative "family values" that represent nothing more than bigotry, thinly veiled oppression, fear, religiously-fueled discrimination, and hatred, will absolutely not convince me to vote in your favor.

I will no longer vote for a party who has shown repeatedly that it has no respect for scientific integrity.

My vote will not go to a party who's leadership has consistently engaged in illegal activities (secret military tribunals, unconstitutional wiretaps, blatant cruelty and torture and seemingly endless violations of the Geneva Conventions) and steadfastly refuses to admit to any wrong-doing. In fact, rather than own up to its deeds, the administration had instead asked for "clarity" in an attempt to re-write the rules and legalize the torture they've been caught doing. Such behavior is completely appalling and absolutely unacceptable.

Speaking of illegal activities... How many people in the current administration have been indicted now?,

Great stuff with lots of good links. Read the rest of it here Way to go, Derek!

Posted by vicki at 09:55 AM

The death toll for U.S. and "Coalition" forces in Iraq now stands at over 3,000. Over 600,000 Iraqis are dead because of our invasion and hundreds of thousands more are displaced, driven out of their homes by the lawless violence we recklessly unleashed there. Consider this:

As American soldiers continued intensive patrols of Baghdad neighborhoods to try to stop the capital from slipping out of control, the military announced on Wednesday that 11 service members had died Tuesday, making it one of the deadliest days for the American military since the start of the war. The death on Wednesday of another American brought October’s total to at least 70, putting this month on track to be the third deadliest of the conflict.

Two news conferences in Najaf, one attended by Mr. Maliki and Mr. Sadr, and one attended by Mr. Maliki alone, produced no concrete agreements that might herald a truce by the Mahdi Army.

In otherwords, SNAFU--Situation Normal. All F**ked Up.

More here And

The hidden casualties of war you never see on the news. Graphic reminders of the horrible injuries tens of thousands of military personel suffer.

Posted by vicki at 08:59 AM

This traumatized baby hippo lost his mother in the 2005 Tsunami and was taken to a wildlife refuge where he bonded with this century old male tortoise. The two are constant companions and have formed a close family bond. More precious pictures and background here. Awwwwwwww! Thanks to Lucy for the smile of the day.

Posted by vicki at 07:04 AM | Comments (1)

Hang your heads in shame, bastards!

The New York Times has this picture on the front page but buries the story on page 14. You have to scroll down on their website and click on a sub-category to find it. Jeepers H. Christmas! What's happened to press and our country?

. . . The law sets up a system of military commissions for trying terrorism suspects that would allow evidence to be withheld from defendants in certain instances. It also strips the federal courts of jurisdiction to hear petitions from noncitizens for writs of habeas corpus, effectively preventing detainees from going to court to challenge their confinement.

More than 500 habeas suits are pending in federal court, and Justice Department officials said Tuesday that they would move swiftly to dismiss them under the new law. That will inevitably spark a challenge by civil liberties lawyers, who regard the habeas-stripping provision as unconstitutional, a view shared by many Democrats on Capitol Hill.

“Congress had no justification for suspending the writ of habeas corpus, a core value in American law, in order to avoid judicial review that prevents government abuse,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bill signing drew protests outside the White House from human rights advocates, some dressed in orange jumpsuits of the sort worn by detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. They gathered around a black coffin painted with the words “the corpse of habeas corpus”; some were arrested after refusing to move away from the White House gates.

The article failed to note that Bu$h is now free to declare U.S. citizens "enemy combatants" and jail and torture them at will. And now back to Mark Foley.

Posted by vicki at 06:04 AM | Comments (1)

Katie Larry Hank
DL Library
Pictures by Eric.

Posted by vicki at 07:25 PM

Sellouts in Congress, once again, allow Buh$ to retroactively break the law and shred the Constitution. Nowhere in this Yahoo article does it mention that U.S. citizens are not beyond Bu$h's reach.

President Bush signed legislation Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation of terror suspects and smoothing the way for trials before military commissions, calling it a "vital tool" in the war against terrorism. Bush's plan for treatment of the terror suspects became law just six weeks after he acknowledged that the CIA had been secretly interrogating suspected terrorists overseas and pressed Congress to quickly give authority to try them in military commissions. . .

The new law means Bush can continue a secret CIA program for interrogating terrorism suspects whom he believes have vital information that could thwart a plot against America.

Bush said the law will allow intelligence professionals to question suspects without fear of being sued by them later. . .

The American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage, calling the new law "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history." "Nothing separates America more from our enemies than our commitment to fairness and the rule of law, but the bill signed today is an historic break because it turns Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. facilities into legal no-man's-lands," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero

We can't even count on the courts to stop this lawlessness.

Posted by vicki at 12:42 PM

,

A strong GOTV effort is critical to freeing Louisville from Northup's radical right-wing grip on power here. from today's Courier-Journal:

Northup has twice the funding of Yarmuth

Northup overall has raised far more than Yarmuth, collecting $2.76 million, including more than $1 million from political action committees.

By contrast, Yarmuth has raised a total of $1.53 million, including $523,127 he has loaned his campaign.

Northup's spending also has exceeded Yarmuth's, even though she had no opponent in the May primary.

Her campaign spent $903,860 in the latest reporting period, bringing its total expenses to $1.33 million.

Yarmuth's campaign spent $558,000, for a total of $995,000, which includes his contested primary.

Jack Conway, who narrowly lost to Northup in 2002, said that if Yarmuth can raise $200,000 to $300,000 more for television advertising, he'll have enough money to win.

"I think more likely than not, he's going to win," Conway said, citing recent polls that Yarmuth's campaign says show a neck-and-neck race in the 3rd District.

A national poll conducted by the self-described nonpartisan group The Majority Watch earlier this month showed a tie at 48 percent, with about 3 percent undecided, according to the group's Web site. Nearly 1,000 likely voters were polled.

Jason Burke, Yarmuth's campaign manager, said its polling by Democratic pollster Alan Seacrest shows the race at 46 percent to 45 percent, with Northup leading.

Meanwhile, "stay the course" has produced 58 dead U.S. troops this month , Thanks Anne!

Killings also continued to besiege the capital on Monday with the discovery of at least 64 bodies across the city, and two car bomb attacks that appeared to kill 22 people. The American military, meanwhile, said Monday that five American service members were killed Sunday, bringing the toll this month to 58. One soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad; two died in Kirkuk Province and two in Salahuddin Province.

Posted by vicki at 09:15 AM

Hoo-boy! Frank Rich of the New York Times never disapoints. This should, but probably won't, have gay-bashing fundie heads exploding.

The Gay Old Party Comes Out

PAGING Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council: Here’s a gay Republican story you probably did not hear last week. On Tuesday a card-carrying homosexual, Mark Dybul, was sworn into office at the State Department with his partner holding the Bible. Dr. Dybul, the administration’s new global AIDS coordinator, was flanked by Laura Bush and Condi Rice. In her official remarks, the secretary of state referred to the mother of Dr. Dybul’s partner as his “mother-in-law.”

Could wedding bells be far behind? It was all on display, photo included, on www.state.gov. And while you’re cruising the Internet, a little creative Googling will yield a long list of who else is gay, openly and not, in the highest ranks of both the Bush administration and the Republican hierarchy. The openly gay range from Steve Herbits, the prescient right-hand consultant to Donald Rumsfeld who foresees disaster in Iraq in Bob Woodward’s book “State of Denial,” to Israel Hernandez, the former Bush personal aide and current Commerce Department official whom the president nicknamed “Altoid boy.” (Let’s not go there.)

Posted by vicki at 10:13 AM

Will anyone ever hold this lawless regime responsible for ANYTHING??? The farkin' New York Times found it appropriate to bury this story on page 16 (out of 27 pages) and 2nd to last post on their website.

— Internal military documents released Thursday provided new details about the Defense Department’s collection of information on demonstrations nationwide last year by students, Quakers and others opposed to the Iraq war.

The documents, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, show, for instance, that military officials labeled as “potential terrorist activity” events like a “Stop the War Now” rally in Akron, Ohio, in March 2005.

The Defense Department acknowledged last year that its analysts had maintained records on war protests in an internal database past the 90 days its guidelines allowed, and even after it was determined there was no threat.
. . .
“There is simply no reason why the United States military should be monitoring the peaceful activities of American citizens who oppose U.S. war policies,” said Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U.

Joyce Miller, an official with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that learned that information on some of its antiwar protests was in the military database, said she found the operation to be a “chilling” and troubling trend.

Posted by vicki at 01:22 PM | Comments (2)

I meant to tell you peeps about this last night but forgot.

vicki sansbury, you and your guests are invited to a "Call for Change" party and screening of the new film Iraq for Sale!
Host: Tom B.

RSVP: Can you make it?

sign up here

Posted by vicki at 11:55 AM

What a refreshing thing it is to hear the honest truth spoken by a top military official. Every last U.S. General has been lying through his teeth about the situation in Iraq from the begining. They look like utter fools, of course, since everyone on the planet knows Iraq is a fiasco. Read more here

U.K. army head said seeking Iraq pullout

By TARIQ PANJA, Associated Press Writer
Dannatt said Britain's presence in the country was worsening security problems domestically too, contrary to Blair's claims that the war in Iraq had no link to the terror threat facing Britain. Such fears have been heightened since last year's terror attacks on London's transport system that killed 52 people and four suicide bombers.

"I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing round the world are caused by our presence in Iraq but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them," he said.

"We are in a Muslim country and Muslims' views of foreigners in their country are quite clear," he said. "As a foreigner, you can be welcomed by being invited in a country, but we weren't invited certainly by those in Iraq at the time."

Dannatt was severely critical of British and American planning for postwar Iraq, describing the rationale behind the invasion as flawed.

"I think history will show that the planning for what happened after the initial successful war fighting phase was poor, probably based more on optimism than sound planning," he said.

"The original intention was that we put in place a liberal democracy that was an exemplar for the region, was pro West and might have a beneficial effect on the balance within the Middle East.

"That was the hope, whether that was a sensible or naive hope history will judge. I don't think we are going to do that. I think we should aim for a lower ambition.

Posted by vicki at 11:38 AM

The Rev. Dobson, of Focus On The Family for this hot steaming load of tripe:

Focus on the Family's James Dobson on the Mark Foley scandal: "As it turns out, Mr. Foley has had illicit sex with no one that we know of, and the whole thing turned out to be what some people are now saying was a -- sort of a joke by the boy and some of the other pages."

Way to "focus on the family," Rev.!

Posted by vicki at 03:14 PM

Hahahahahahahahaha! Well, they ARE! You can find this on www.MSNBC.com Crooks and Liars and all over the net. Here's a snip:

So how does the Bush White House keep 'the nuts' turning out at the polls?

One way, regular conference calls with groups led by Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Ted Haggard, and radio hosts like Michael Reagan.

Kuo says, "Participants were asked to talk to their people about whatever issue was pending. Advice was solicited [but] that advice rarely went much further than the conference call. [T]he true purpose of these calls was to keep prominent social conservatives and their groups or audiences happy."

They do get some things from the Bush White House, like the National Day of Prayer, “another one of the eye-rolling Christian events,” Kuo says.

And “passes to be in the crowd greeting the president when he arrived on Air Force One or tickets for a speech he was giving in their hometown. Little trinkets like cufflinks or pens or pads of paper were passed out like business cards. Christian leaders could give them to their congregations or donors or friends to show just how influential they were. Making politically active Christians personally happy meant having to worry far less about the Christian political agenda.”

Posted by vicki at 03:01 PM

One thing you can count on is that whatever number the Bu$h administration or its puppet "government" in Iraq gives us will be bogus. They fudge (lie) about budget numbers and projections, alter scientific research papers and in general, just make stuff up to suit their purposes. You need look no further than the millions this mis-administration has spent planting propaganda in U.S. and foreign newspapers. From the The New York Times

BAGHDAD, Oct. 10 — A team of American and Iraqi public health researchers has estimated that 600,000 civilians have died in violence across Iraq since the 2003 American invasion, the highest estimate ever for the toll of the war here.

The figure breaks down to about 15,000 violent deaths a month, a number that is quadruple the one for July given by Iraqi government hospitals and the morgue in Baghdad and published last month in a United Nations report in Iraq. That month was the highest for Iraqi civilian deaths since the American invasion.

But it is an estimate and not a precise count, and researchers acknowledged a margin of error that ranged from 426,369 to 793,663 deaths.

It is the second study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It uses samples of casualties from Iraqi households to extrapolate an overall figure of 601,027 Iraqis dead from violence between March 2003 and July 2006.

The findings of the previous study, published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, in 2004, had been criticized as high, in part because of its relatively narrow sampling of about 1,000 families, and because it carried a large margin of error.

The new study is more representative, its researchers said, and the sampling is broader: it surveyed 1,849 Iraqi families in 47 different neighborhoods across Iraq. The selection of geographical areas in 18 regions across Iraq was based on population size, not on the level of violence, they said.

The study comes at a sensitive time for the Iraqi government, which is under pressure from American officials to take action against militias driving the sectarian killings.

Posted by vicki at 10:16 AM

1st up, Yarmuth: Northup is part of the mess in Congress and refuses to clean it up. Part of the corrupt GOP government.

Northup: (BTW, she looks like an angry witch) Yammering on all the lame crap she "brought " to Louisville. Hahahahahahahahaha. Yammers about terra and stay the course in Iraq. She talks like a Bu$h-bot and regurgitates WH talking points endlessly.

Yarmuth: Mocks Northup for the "stay the course" nonsense. He would support Dem. John Murtha's approach to getting out of Iraq.

Northup: Strong on terra. Nobody but Bu$h has the strength to fight the terriers in Iraq so they can't attack us here.. Hahahahahaha. Says we are the Strongest country in the world. Not like France.

Yarmuth: On economy, only Corporations and stockholders are doing well. Wage earners stagnant or degraded. Would raise the minimum wage.

Northup: Make tax cuts permanat to continue "growth." Makes up crap about Yarmuth wanting to raise taxes. Opposes raising minimum wage.

Yarmuth and Northup are nearly alike on immigration though Northup insists on building a border fence first.

Northup: Approves torture as long as you don't call it torture. Yarmuth: Torture doesn't work, it's un-American.

Yarmuth: Northup led the charge to dismantle Social Security. Northup: wants privatization as long as it's not called privatization. Yarmuth: calls Medicare a massive fraud and wants universal healthcare. Northup calls the new medicare program "popular" and offers great savings. Hahhahahahahaha. No mention of the "donut hole."

Northup: Loves NCLB Yarmuth: NCLB is all Cheneyed-up. An unfunded mandate and disaster.

Yarmuth: Where the hell are these bridges and the money to pay for them? Northup: I'm pro bridge! I throw money at them.

Northup: Let's drill in ANWR! Drill, drill, drill. Yarmuth: Northup is a Big Oil shill and an environmentalist disaster. We need to cut dependence on foreign oil.

Other odds and ends: Northup is "pro" life. Yarmuth: Abortion--safe, legal and rare. Stem cells: Yarmuth pro research funded by government. Northup: against funding. and research for embryonic.

One last note. Northup repeatedly interrupted Yarmuth and got to put in the last word every time and the moderator did nothing to stop her or offer Yarmuth a chance to respond. As hubby Jon pointed out, Yarmuth missed the chance to mention Katrina or Abu Griab. Too bad about that. Maybe next time.

Continue reading "Debate Blogging: Yarmuth vs Northup"

Posted by vicki at 06:59 PM | Comments (4)

As usual, Hank supplied this valuable link. Watch the debate live tonight. More here

Northup, Yarmuth Debate Set For WAVE 3

(LOUISVILLE)-- The first meeting between the candidates vying for the 3rd Congressional district seat is Tuesday October 10th.

Incumbent Rep. Anne Northup, R-Louisville, will debate the issues with Democratic challenger John Yarmuth, D-Louisville. It will air live from 7pm-8pm on WAVE 3.

Posted by vicki at 08:58 AM | Comments (1)

Special thanks to our fine photographer, Eric for the pics!

From top, left to right: Jonathan, Derek, Amy, Ron, Dear Leader Joe from Alabama, (barely visible) Lee and Larry, Jimmy and Maria.

Posted by vicki at 09:23 PM

If I had my way, there would only be a handful of current members of Congress left standing after the '06 and '08 elections. There's no doubt in anyone's mind that this republican controled Congress is the most incompetent, dangerous and corrupt in the history of this country. I'd dump a slew of Dems as well. Joe Leiberman, former Dem from CT would be first on the list, but there are huge numbers of Dems who rolled over and played dead on the Iraq situation, a draconian bankruptcy bill, medicare and much more. The always excellent The Nation lays it all out here:

Disgraced Republicans

. . . Hastert's cover-up was in tune with the tawdry scandals and lassitude that characterized the just-completed session. Meeting for fewer than 100 days, the GOP-led Congress failed to pass nine of eleven appropriations bills for the budget year that has already begun. With House majority leader Tom DeLay and Representatives Bob Ney and Randy Cunningham going down under financial scandals, and the K Street Project's organized bribery under investigation, Republicans hit a new nadir--tallying more legislators disgraced than major pieces of legislation passed. . .

If GOP leaders had gotten their way, they'd have dismantled Social Security, permanently dissolved the estate tax, authorized the President to wiretap Americans without a warrant (or a reason), offered Big Oil more offshore drilling areas and trashed a good deal of what's left of wilderness areas. Now, in the lame-duck session, they'll pass laws that feature corporate payoffs, more tax breaks for the few and cuts in what's left of health, housing and education support for the working poor and the middle class.

Faced with lock-step GOP majorities, Democrats sometimes helped limit the carnage but--as when twelve Senate Dems voted for the torture bill--rolled over too often and fought too little. Indeed, there's more than enough shame to go around.

Republicans, however, have been running the store, and the only question is whether voters are going to hold them to account on November 7. The Republicans have more money for vicious air attacks and a better ground game. But no self-respecting voter can go to the polls thinking that this crowd--its leaders indicted or disgraced, its morals prostituted, its principles bartered away--should be returned to office. Corruption, torture, the fiasco in Iraq and, finally, the Foley cover-up. Enough is enough.

Posted by vicki at 05:55 PM | Comments (2)

This Sunday Times Magazine story is a sad look into traumatized Elephant herds that are increasingly rampaging villiages and committing acts of rage in response to the breakdown of their family friendly way of life. It mirrors much of the human violence in Africa and parts of Asia.

A three hankie read.

Posted by vicki at 11:23 PM | Comments (1)

Woo Hoo! Somebody give that boy a peppermint! Cielo Gold came from far behind to win in a photo finish. KY Derby, here we come!

Posted by vicki at 08:03 AM | Comments (2)

You just cannot make this s**t UP! This country is so off the rails it gives conspiracy theorists a run for their money. We really need to get serious about the gutting of the media, the courts, Congress and every single failure to provide a check on presidential power that is destroying our country. Snap Out Of It, America! Our government thinks we're morons. Will we prove them *right?*

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser
The Most Trusted Name in News?

Ten years ago tomorrow, Fox News slithered onto the scene, beginning its assault on logic and reason and fact and decency and, basically, all that is great about America. A maniacal scheme hatched by real-life Bond villain

Rupert Murdoch and his Number Two, former Republican strategist Roger Ailes, Fox News' impact on the nation's media cannot be overstated; nor can the effect it has had on our political discourse.

This is not a column about Fox News. You know about Fox News already. (If you don't, feel free to click here and read some of the 1,473 items we've posted about Fox at last count. Don't have time? Here's the short version: They lie -- a lot. They like George W. Bush -- a lot. They hate Democrats -- a lot.)

Instead, we focus today on CNN -- or, if you prefer, Fox's Mini-Me.

Read it and AND WEEP BITTER TEARSl My farkin' head hutrs.

Posted by vicki at 12:19 PM

Mitch McConnell is a horse's ass. KY is already the butt of of jokes about ignorant hillbillies, and McConnell just adds to the humiliation with his clowning behavior in Congress. Our hacktacular senior Senator has been in the news and featured on Comedy Central for his latest antics. He richly deserves the public scorn he's garnered for the 20 million dollar celebration of *victory* in Iraq and Afghanistan. he stuffed into the latest defense spending bill. Jon Stewart justifiably rips him for his hackery:

To Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," it's fodder for a joke.

To some Democrats, it smacks of the kind of hubris that got the United States into Iraq.

But to Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., it's nothing less than the proper recognition due the nation's armed forces at the end of a difficult mission.

At issue: An authorization to spend $20 million that McConnell inserted into a defense spending measure to pay for a celebration in Washington at the end of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. . .

Jon Stewart took note of the McConnell amendment on his self-styled "fake news" broadcast this week.

"You know, we do this show every day, and we talk an awful lot about Iraq, Afghanistan, how things are going over there. The one thing that we really haven't spoken much about on this show ... is how much money that we're going to be spending on the raging kegger to celebrate our victories there," Stewart said. "Well, I tell you what, worry no more. Senator Mitch McConnell has our back."

At $20 million for the celebration, "you're probably thinking to yourself there -- whoa, whoa!" Stewart continued. "That's Upper East Side bat mitzvah money." ,

Thanks, Mitch. You give buffoons everywhere a bad name.

Posted by vicki at 09:47 AM | Comments (1)

In a 2004 file photo from Reuters, Rep. Mark Foley talks with President George W. Bush.
From the always excellent Salon Magazine.

Maf54 (8:08:31 PM): Get a ruler and measure it for me

Update: Folks have been making up captions for the photo above in the comments below, but it's unlikely anyone's going to beat what the president said just yesterday: "I get a little nervous when I hear people say, 'Well, I don't want to be measured.' My attitude is, what are you trying to hide?"

Bush was talking about No Child Left Behind, but that's a whole different punch line.

-- Tim Grieve

Posted by vicki at 03:49 PM | Comments (1)

This is an awesome music video! My gratitude to BC for passing it along.

You'll get thousands by clicking here.

Posted by vicki at 11:25 AM | Comments (1)

This is reprehensible. Culture Of Life, my ass! Front page New York Times article

Since the war between Israel and Hezbollah ended in August, nearly three people have been wounded or killed each day by cluster bombs Israel dropped in the waning days of the war, and officials now say it will take more than a year to clear the region of them.

United Nations officials estimate that southern Lebanon is littered with one million unexploded bomblets, far outnumbering the 650,000 people living in the region. They are stuck in the branches of olive trees and the broad leaves of banana trees. They are on rooftops, mixed in with rubble and littered across fields, farms, driveways, roads and outside schools. . .

The United States has sold cluster bombs to Israel in the past and says it is investigating whether Israel’s use of cluster bombs in its war with Hezbollah violated a secret agreement that restricted when they could be used. . .

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an article on Sept. 12 anonymously quoting the head of a rocket unit in Lebanon who was critical of the decision to use cluster bombs. “What we did was insane and monstrous; we covered entire towns in cluster bombs,” Haaretz quoted the commander as saying.

Posted by vicki at 10:14 AM | Comments (1)

Major thanks to Eric, our official DL photographer

Joe, Barbara, Rev. Todd and Vicki. Maria

Posted by vicki at 03:42 PM | Comments (2)

Un-freaking-believable! The Miami Herald, the newspaper which received tax dollars to print WH propaganda, couldn't find the time to investigate and report the Page scandal. Every aspect of our lives, be it the media, the courts, our political Reps or our privacy has been deeply corrupted by Republican polititions and Big Bidnez. Posted by vicki at 02:43 PM | Comments (1)

The Orwellian party of "moral values" and "personal responsibility" wasted no time in trying to blame the Democrats for their own sex scandal. How fitting that the party who regularly uses gay bashing to turn their homophobic "religious" base out to the polls is now caught covering up for a gay sexual pedator. The Hill bursts that bubble.

The source who in July gave news media Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-Fla.) suspect e-mails to a former House page says the documents came to him from a House GOP aide.

That aide has been a registered Republican since becoming eligible to vote, said the source, who showed The Hill public records supporting his claim.

The same source, who acted as an intermediary between the aide-turned-whistleblower and several news outlets, says the person who shared the documents is no longer employed in the House.

But the whistleblower was a paid GOP staffer when the documents were first given to the media.

The source bolstered the claim by sharing un-redacted e-mails in which the former page first alerted his congressional sponsor’s office of Foley’s attentions. The copies of these e-mails, now available to the public, have the names of senders and recipients blotted out.

These revelations mean that Republicans who are calling for probes to discover what Democratic leaders and staff knew about Foley’s improper exchanges with under-age pages will likely be unable to show that the opposition party orchestrated the scandal now roiling the GOP just a month away from the midterm elections.

Posted by vicki at 11:30 AM | Comments (2)

The Miami Herald is planting propaganda in its papers for Bu$hCo. Read the Times article here

Miami Publisher Steps Down Over Payments to Reporters

And then there's this little gem

Tucked away in fine print in the military spending bill for this past year was a lump sum of $20 million to pay for a celebration in the nation’s capital “for commemoration of success” in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And...A consortium of major universities, using Homeland Security Department money, is developing software that would let the government monitor negative opinions of the United States or its leaders in newspapers and other publications overseas.

And Big Dick Cheney is no fan of freedom of speech

Man Sues Secret Service Agent Over Arrest After Approaching Cheney and Denouncing War

Bu$hCo: giving Banana Republics a bad name.

Posted by vicki at 12:57 PM

Every last KY GOP member of Congress, as well as our lawless Governor, are corrupt to the core. Here are a few items in today's C-J in case you missed it.

Former Florida Rep. Mark Foley gave $7,000 from his political action committee to Republican House candidates in Kentucky between 1998 and this year.

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, R-4th District, said he is giving his $1,000 to charity. Others say that the money has been spent or that old campaign committees that received the funds are closed.

Foley resigned last week over inappropriate e-mails he sent to a 16-year-old male House page.
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher's 1998 House campaign received $1,000 from Foley's Leadership 2000 PAC, and Fletcher's 2000 House race got $2,000, federal records show. Fletcher represented Kentucky's 6th District from 1999 until December 2003.

Asked how the governor would handle the Foley contributions, press secretary Jodi Whitaker said in a statement: "Those accounts are six and eight years old, and they are closed."

U.S. Rep. Anne Northup's 1998 congressional campaign received $1,000 from Foley's PAC. Patrick Neely, campaign manager for the 3rd District Republican, said that money has been spent and won't be returned.

Northup's Democratic opponent, John Yarmuth, said he thinks any contributions affiliated with Foley should be donated to the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children. He said that if Northup contributes $1,000 to the agency, he'll do the same.

Our clowning Governor is still up to no good and our corrupt Attorney General does nothing to stop him. AG Stumbo is Fletcher's great enabler. Here's the rest of the story Had Enough?

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- In June 2005, Transportation Cabinet Inspector General David Ray told the FBI, federal highway officials and others that the Fletcher administration had blocked his investigation into improper influence on road contracts.

He was investigating allegations that certain cabinet officials tried to steer the selection of engineering companies for road projects despite a law that requires choosing companies strictly by experience, qualifications and capacity to do the job on time.

And finally, Anne Northup is a liar and and a coward!

Posted by vicki at 11:33 AM

Jeepers H. Christmas! My bloody head is going to explode if we don't get a grip on this situation. This violence and incompetence by the U.S. Government in Iraq and Afghanistan is unbearable. Culture of Life my ass! So much death. So much destruction and bombing of infrastructure. So little hope of a good outcome. We cannot let this stand! Tell Congress and Bu$h this is not acceptable! You have Google. Use it.

From the WaPo today

At least 33 people died in violence around Iraq, including a suicide attack on a fish market in Baghdad that killed three people and wounded 19. A bomber detonated a belt rigged with explosives in the outdoor market in the primarily Sunni area of Sadiyah in southwestern Baghdad, police Lt. Maitham Abdul Razzaq said.

Four of the soldiers were killed in Baghdad on Monday in separate small-arms fire attacks, the military said. Another four were killed the same day in a roadside bomb attack on their patrol northwest of Baghdad.

The ninth died Sunday when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb west of the capital.

The two Marines, both with the Regimental Combat Team 7, were killed in fighting in Anbar province, one on Sept. 30 and one on Oct. 1, the military said.

At least 2,727 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Posted by vicki at 12:00 PM | Comments (2)

Forget about the lame debut of sitcoms, melodramas and "reality" shows. Here's some TV worth watching:

Moyers on America: Capitol Crimes
First of three Bill Moyers documentaries
Wednesday, October 4, 9:00pm on KET2
http://ket.org/

Debut: Bill Moyers examines issues in the news.
Capitol Crimes #101 [TV-PG]
The fall of lobbyist Jack Abramoff exposed a huge web of corruption that
remains vastly unreported by the broadcast media. Moyers and his colleagues
untangle e-mails, reports, interviews, and facts on the record to illuminate
a pattern of criminal and political chicanery.

KET2 WED 10/4/06 9:00 pm

KET2 FRI 10/6/06 1:00 am

KET2 FRI 10/6/06 4:00 am

KET1 FRI 10/6/06 10:00 pm

KET2 MON 10/9/06 1:00 am

KET2 MON 10/9/06 4:00 am
click here for schedule

Posted by vicki at 10:35 AM

The Republican leadership knew about Congressman Foley's lewd and criminal behavior toward young male pages for at least a year and did nothing. They had a choice: protecting idealistic adolecent children who came to DC to work as Pages for their Florida Rep in Congress and learning the ways of that body, or covering the ass of a pedophile. They chose to protect the pedophile and (they thought) keep his Florida seat safe rather than stop the abuse.

Family Values Gone Wild! It's so depraved and repulsive I hardly know where to begin. There is not one inch of American integrity that the GOP has not trashed. Minority Dem leader, Nancy Pelosi writes letters.

As the author of the resolution that the House unanimously passed, I am writing to insist that the Ethics Committee act as directed and immediately form the investigative Subcommittee and begin work on the preliminary report in 10 days. Central to the investigation is immediately questioning, under oath, the House Republican Leadership.

It is a nightmare for every child, parent and grandparent to learn that a child is being stalked on the internet by an adult in a position of authority. The fact that Mr. Foley was engaging in this behavior with underage children, that the Republican Leadership knew about it for six months to a year and has characterized the inappropriate behavior as "overly friendly" and "acting as a mentor" and that apparently no action was taken to protect these underage children is abhorrent.

The children, their parents, the public, and our colleagues must be assured that such abhorrent behavior is not tolerated and will never happen again.

Sincerely,

NANCY PELOSI

Had Enough?

Posted by vicki at 10:11 PM | Comments (4)

Thanks to Hankster for forwarding this to me in Denver! "Big Dawg," President Bill Clinton will be in Louisville to raise money for Democrats. This is way outside my price range, but Louisville is absolutely loaded with rich Liberals. Think Binghams, Cherrys, Yarmuths.... the list is long. Until Anne Northup darkened the door of Louisville politics, we have always supported Liberals who have made the city of Louisville a progressive, artistic and creative oasis in the sorry, ignorant state of KY. Just ask yourself one question: When you travel, are you ashamed to admit you are from KY? I am. Had enough? We need to yank our State and Country back from the corrupt, incompetent, lawless ReThugs and regain our pride.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061001/NEWS01/310010007

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Former President Bill Clinton will come to Louisville on
Oct. 24 to speak at a fundraising dinner for the Kentucky Democratic Party.

Clinton "will definitely help us raise money, but more importantly he will
help us energize our base for our Nov. 7 elections," state Democratic
Chairman Jerry Lundergan said yesterday at a press conference at state party
headquarters.

Clinton will be the keynote speaker at the party's Jefferson-Jackson Day
Dinner at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

Contributors of $12,500 will get a table of 10 seats in the "premier"
seating section, Lundergan said.

An individual ticket in that section costs $2,500.

A second seating area will cost $1,000 per person; and a third will cost
$150, Lundergan said.

Lundergan declined to estimate how much money the party expects to raise or
how many people are likely to attend.

"We'll just have to wait and see but we expect a large crowd," he said.
Ticket information is at kydemocrat.com.

Clinton will be the latest in a string of high-profile politicians to visit
Kentucky over the past year on behalf of Democrats as well as Republicans.

U.S. Sen. John McCain attended a fundraiser with the state Republican Party
this past week, and former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark
visited a state Democratic Party event last weekend.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York also helped state Democrats raise
money at a Louisville fundraiser last year.

Posted by vicki at 07:33 PM | Comments (1)